Get Your Paddle On!

So we golfed Emerald the other day which is an easy course designed for entry level players. Lori, of course, has never really played Golf at all so this would work out perfectly. During the first six holes she was very frustrated with the game because she wasn’t able to make par! Eventually, though, she was able to get the ball in the air pretty consistently and had a much better back 9. As for me, I made par on the first hole and ended up shooting 46-51= 97 from the ladies tees. Lori shot a 69-64= 133 which isn’t bad at all for her very first time. After Golf we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then went to a Luau. There we sat with a local family and another couple from LA that were also on their honeymoon. Decent company for dinner, although they weren’t very talkative. Lori charmed everyone as usual with her outgoing and friendly personality and was eventually able to open them up a little bit. At the Luau, I ran into “Drunk Guy” again. I ran into Drunk Guy earlier in the day at the Golf Course and he brought me over to take pictures with his friends. At the Luau, he asked if I would Golf with him and his buddies the next morning at 7:00am. I explained to him that I was on my honeymoon and didn’t think that would be a good idea. He persisted however, and even asked Lori if it was ok! Actually, Lori thought he’d invited “us” to go Golfing and his reply was, “No, not you, just him.” Can you believe this guy? The dinner buffet opened up at about 6:00pm and the food was awesome. I filled my plate with all kinds of excellent vegetarian dishes. Once dinner was over, the lights were dimmed and we were treated to a beautiful, traditional Hawaiian show. We saw Hula dancers, dudes eating flames from their torches and all kinds of cool stuff. It was a fun evening. *************************************************************** The next morning we had our breakfast delivered to the room at 8:30am so that we could make our 10:00am surf lesson. We got there right on time and frankly, I was very nervous about whether or not I’d be able to do it. We were getting a lesson along with another family that had very young children which made me feel more at ease, but I still figured that I’d make a fool of myself out there. We hauled our surf boards out to the grass for a land lesson on how to paddle and then, “pop up,” on to our surf boards. For some reason I just wasn’t able to pop up with my feet in the right place- or so I thought. We took our boards into the water and I was dreading the idea. I figured Lori would be a natural since she is pretty limber and athletic, but I just didn’t think I’d be able to get on the board. I watched as our instructor John gave people a push onto the wave and then yelled, “Pop up,” when it was time to jump to your feet. Most people didn’t really make it up onto the board for long before washing out (that’s surf talk for falling on their butt!) Then it was my turn. John let’s me know the wave is coming, follows that up with a, “Get your Paddle on,” and then a loud, “POP UP!.” Dude, I am a natural surfer! I rode that baby almost all the way in. Every ride I took after that was pretty awesome, so the instructor moved me up to the bigger waves. Man was I stoked. Here I thought I was going to be the worst surfer of the bunch, but I ended up being really good at it (for a beginner.) After about an hour of having John the instructor help me get onto the waves I thought I’d give it a try on my own. Now that, is waaaay harder. I wasn’t really able to catch a ride without the boost. I think my timing was a little off and I couldn’t muster up enough speed. Oh well, next time. (Pictures will be up soon in the photo gallery at www.fullcontactpoker.com) So today we plan on getting some sun by the beach, do some snorkeling, play Croquet, and then later tonight we have a romantic dinner planned. We met with a chef yesterday and he is preparing a six course meal for us based on exactly what we want. A Sommelier is going to also pair each course with the perfect wine as we look over the sunset in a secluded area high above the beach area. As for relaxing, Lori and I do it up right! We each go to the spa almost everyday for a lengthy massage. I end up falling asleep every time since it’s so relaxing! Anyway, it’s time for breakfast and a start to our day. ]]>